Dawgs win CAAC Cup opener

The Ionia boy soccer team outscored Charlotte 2-1 by outlasting the Orioles 5-4 in penalty kicks Thursday night to earn a first-round win in the Capital Area Activities Conference Cup.

Ionia will take on the winner of the Lakewood vs. Jackson first-round game Tuesday night. Regardless of who the Soccer Dawgs play, they will be on the road.

"It was good that we were able to pull it out in PKs, but I was a little disappointed with the effort the second half," Ionia coach Aaron Baylis said. "The first half we gave a good effort and had a lot of good chances we just didn't finish. In the second I thought we came out a little flat.

"I think it carried over from practice last night. We were a little lackadaisical, but the one good thing was that we worked on PKs for 20 minutes."

The Bulldogs (9-8-1) were able to capitalize on one scoring chance in the first, when Chris Ahmed found Avery Baylis on a centering pass and he found the back of the net with 23:45 left in the first half.

Ionia held its one-goal advantage until the 3:42 mark in the second. Oriole forward Jack Johnson got around Ionia goalkeeper Alex Lee and kicked the ball into the open net. Curtis White assisted on the score.

During the PK session, both squads scored on each of their first four attempts. In the fifth round, Lee lunged to his right and made a save on a quick shot along the ground. That set up Ahmed with a chance to win it.

The Bulldog Senior struck the ball into the left side of the net, beating Charlotte keeper Tanner Johns who made a diving attempt to stop the ball.

Baylis said it's nice to go into PKs with an experienced goalkeeper.

"I thought Alex read the kick on three attempts," he said. He read them right and got a hand on the fourth one.

"He's very good at reading where the ball is going. If it's placed well we

wouldn't be able to get it anyway. Alex is a very good goalie and its nice to have a senior in their going into PKs."

Lee finished with three saves on seven Charlotte shots, while Johns stopped five of Ionia's 11 attempts.

Baylis said he is happy to be moving on to the next round of the winners bracket, but knows his team needs to play with high intensity for 80 minutes.

"I'm excited to see what we can do," he said. "The competition is going to keep getting better, so we have to step up from the way we played tonight."